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There is a thread on the gaming forum for your favourite game ever. After reading some of the posts, I got to thinking about what could be not only my favourite game, but the best game ever made. This would have to be something that if you said it to someone, it wouldn’t be instantly dismissed. It would have to be a game that everyone would have played, or has at least some sort of connection to.
Now, as everyone here says, picking a favourite game is a toughie – if not a near impossible task – so just try to think of the best individual game ever.
Not easy, eh?
You may have your own opinion as to what makes a great game, but people’s preferences differ so much that you may even find someone who thinks Driv3r was the best game ever (unlikely as it seems). What I’ll do is try to give a quick insight to my train of thought on the matter.
I find that a game with a good story can be, at the time of playthrough something that affects me emotionally, and therefore improves your opinion. I wouldn’t, however, necessarily enjoy a second playthough of, say, Heavy Rain as much as the first.

If we’re talking about the way the memory of a game makes you feel, something like Super Mario World would be right up there for me. But nowadays, even though I still enjoy playing the original Mario games I find I have to be in the right state of mind, or else I’ll find myself not having fun.

The original Tomb Raider was a thing of beauty at the time, but the razzle-dazzle of 3D graphics has lost its shine, and now the game seems like a chore to grind through.
But how about recent hours sunk into a game? Well then, Picross 3D on DS is currently king for me, just like Mass Effect 2 was a year ago – wow, a year already! But once finished, I doubt I’ll play it again.
So, we can dismiss graphics, story, and nostalgia. That doesn’t leave a whole lot.
Perhaps the best games are those ones that we forget to mention on these topics. You know, the ones that are so ingrained in you that you forget about them, and only remember their greatness when someone points them out to you. You may not have thought about this potential game, or even played it for a while, but it’s unthinkable that you would know anyone that calls themselves a gamer has not played, or even heard of this game. It would need to be a game that you’d be mortified to be told that you could never play it again. In fact, if you spend a moment thinking about it, you’d probably really, really want to find a version, just for a quick go.

Holy balls! I just realised, the best game ever could possibly be Tetris.

So try and think about this question in the same way as above. Dismiss the superficial and focus on the soul of the game and its universal appeal; titles like Missile Command, Portal, and of course Tetris.

So, what do you think is the best game ever?

This Community Content article was created by beefkr10z, a member of our community. Community Content is your way of getting long-form writing and opinion out to the Midlife Gamer audience, an open platform to get something off your chest. For full guidelines on our editorial standards and how to create your own post, click here. The views expressed within are those of the author and not necessarily the opinions of the Midlife Gamer Staff

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2 Responses to “The best game ever?”

I’ve not posted a response in the forum thread because I just can’t pin down that ONE game that is for me…the best.
Like music and to an extent, films, its not so much a best game ever, but what was going on in my life at the time, that makes it special.
UniRally on the SENS – the greatest two player game my wife and I ever enjoyed together.
Tomb Raider on PSOne – not even a naked chick roller skating in front of the TV could tear me away from that game.
Hard Drivin’ – Responsible for eating much of my Student Grant at the Students Union Bar.
Day of Defeat – My first Online experience. A game that had me hooked till I could hear the dawn chorus.
Gears of War – Split screen couch co-op with a gaming buddy while drinking.

If I had to pick the best game ever, then the real world environments, emotions and feelings of the time would have to come with it…

…so I pick Tomb Raider and my wife roller skating naked in front of me while I play.

nice post…i think you’re probably right about simple games being the best – although i do think the original driver on the psone was fkin awesome. the weight of those cars swinging round corners was beautiful.

thinking about my best game, i thought of mariokart on the snes – lots of fond memories and hours spent. but at the same time it struck me as odd that i would not spend more than 30 mins playing it now before getting bored. Whereas my favorite movies, books and music include 60yrs old peices which seem ageless. I can watch a hitchcock classic or read a confederacy of dunces and the time span doesn’t register. But if i compare ghostbusters the movie to the game release of the day, and the movie is still great but the game shockingly bad.

At first i put it down to gaming industry being young and the relentless charge of technology and innovation leaving relatively young games feeling like antiques. But then, the movie industry has seen the same innovation but oldies like star wars and the exorcist are still thrilling movies.

So i guess the difference is that movies, music and books are set in a reality which barely changes, whereas most games are creating and chasing their own reality, always falling short, and quickly surpassed by the next graphical masterpiece. Consequently, games which stand the test of time are often abstract like tetris and pacman, while other fond favorites like goldeneye die and become fixed in amber like the little mosquitoes in jurassic park – another great movie well worth a watch, but who the fk is playing turok anymore?

anyhow…just my thoughts. i just found it odd that compared to other forms of entertainment (or maybe art), games seem to have a very short shelf life.